Method for modifying images of vehicles, tires, and lift kits

ABSTRACT

A method includes determining a specific or basic vehicle, retrieving a base image or modified base image corresponding to the specific or basic vehicle, and selecting an accessory. The method also includes retrieving an accessory image corresponding to the accessory and animating the accessory image onto the base image or modified base image.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application which claims priorityfrom U.S. utility application Ser. No. 15/874,460, filed Jan. 18, 2018,which is itself a nonprovisional application that claims priority fromU.S. provisional application No. 62/453,916, filed Feb. 2, 2017, each ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD/FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to computerized methods foradding lift kits and tire accessories to vehicle images.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

A customer for a vehicle may customize the vehicle by adding suchaccessories as different tires than those originally specified for thevehicle, or lift kits. Lift kits are an assembly of parts that whenadded to the vehicle, change the profile of the vehicle. A lift kitlifts or lowers the vehicle, traditionally both front and rear,typically from 1″ to more than 4″. Lift kits may come in threevarieties: body lift kits, suspension lift kits, and suspension loweringkits.

Conventionally, a body lift kit uses blocks and spacers to lift the bodyhigher onto the frame of the vehicle without altering the suspensiongeometry. With a body lift kit, the ground clearance often remainsunchanged, but the extra height allows larger wheels and tires. Thesteering geometry conventionally remains unaltered, so the vehicle mayretain most of its original driving and handling characteristics. Bodylifts may be more affordable and easier to install than suspension liftkits.

Suspension lift kits often include replacement of shocks and/or struts,leaf springs, control arms, trailing arms, driveshaft and steeringcomponents. Replacing and upgrading these components allows for moresuspension articulation, more ground clearance, and the ability to runlarger tires.

Like suspension lift kits, suspension lowering kits may includereplacement of shocks and/or struts, leaf springs, control arms,trailing arms, driveshaft and steering components. Replacing andupgrading these components allows for more suspension articulation, andlower ground clearance.

As used herein, tire and/or lift kit customization is referred to as“tire and lift kit accessories.”

Retailers may desire a process for managing the process of vehiclecustomization so as to provide the customer with information regardingthe tire and lift kit accessories and prices of the tire and lift kitaccessories. Further, such a process may facilitate purchases of tireand lift kit accessories by those customers that might otherwise notoccur had such a process not existed.

Traditional processes for presenting information regarding accessoriesand prices of the tire and lift kit accessories have been limited. Withrespect to tires, a retailer employee may show the customer a picture ofthe tire from a paper catalog, magazine, product guide, or digitalimage. With respect to lift kits, only a list of parts without imagesmay be available to the retailer for presentation to a customer. In sometraditional processes, tire and lift kit accessories may be shown on avehicle other than that being purchased by the customer, traditionallyon paper. For example, tire and lift kit accessories may be shown tocustomers from physical copies of catalogs, which may be in some casesout of date or not offered for particular models or years of vehicles.Traditional systems have limited, manual systems for determining whetherthe tire and lift kit accessories selected by the customer may be usedor available for the vehicle the customer has selected, such asconsulting a catalog. Also, in traditional methods, the customer isunable to view the tire and lift kit accessories on a vehicle that isthe same or similar to the vehicle being purchased or considered forpurchase by the customer.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides for a computerized method for addinglift kits or tires to vehicle images. The method includes providing aplurality of image layers and constructing a base image or modified baseimage from the plurality of image layers. The method also includesselecting a tire or lift kit accessory, and retrieving an accessoryimage corresponding to the tire or lift kit accessory. In addition, themethod includes animating the accessory image onto the base image ormodified base image.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is best understood from the following detaileddescription when read with the accompanying figures. It is emphasizedthat, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, variousfeatures are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of the variousfeatures may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity ofdiscussion.

FIG. 1A is a flow chart depicting a customizing vehicle processconsistent with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1B is flow chart depicting a customizing vehicle process consistentwith at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a depiction of a deal summary consistent with at least oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart depicting an AOA process consistent with at leastone embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a depiction of a vehicle selection GUI make selectionconsistent with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5A is depiction of a year selection GUI consistent with at leastone embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5B is a depiction of a model selection GUI consistent with at leastone embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5C is a depiction of a trim package selection GUI consistent withat least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5D is a depiction of a color selection GUI consistent with at leastone embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a depiction of configurator GUI consistent with at least oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a depiction of configurator GUI consistent with at least oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a depiction of configurator GUI consistent with at least oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a depiction of configurator GUI consistent with at least oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a depiction lift kit editor GUI consistent with at least oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 11A-11C are depictions of parts selection GUI consistent with atleast one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a depiction of an embodiment of AOA computer systemconsistent with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 13A-13E are image layers consistent with at least one embodimentof the present disclosure

FIGS. 14A-14D depict modification of a base image using dynamic imageplacement consistent with at least one embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 15A-15D depict animation of a lift kit and tire accessory onto abase or modified base image consistent with at least one embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is to be understood that the following disclosure provides manydifferent embodiments, or examples, for implementing different featuresof various embodiments. Specific examples of components and arrangementsare described below to simplify the present disclosure. These are, ofcourse, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. Inaddition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/orletters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose ofsimplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationshipbetween the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.

As used herein, a “GUI” is a graphical user interface in which data maybe displayed and entered. In certain non-limiting embodiments, the GUIsdescribed below may be customized depending on the device on which theyare displayed. For instance, vehicle selection GUI 212 as discussedbelow may display different information when displayed on a computerterminal screen then when displayed on a tablet or smartphone screen.

As used herein, “Add-On-Auto process” or “AOA process” refers to theprocess of selection of accessories or a group of accessories for avehicle.

As used herein, “retailer” refers to any seller of vehicles, with aphysical presence, such as having a car lot, or a virtual presence, suchas a website, or a combination thereof.

As used herein, a “salesperson” refers to any employee of a retailer.

As used herein, “deal” refers to an agreement between a retailer and acustomer that includes a specific vehicle and the terms at which thevehicle is purchased or leased.

As depicted in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, in some embodiments of the presentdisclosure, customizing vehicle process 100 and 110′ may include thesteps of select vehicle 110, negotiate deal 120, and perform AOA process200. In select vehicle 110, the customer selects the vehicle he wishesto purchase or is considering purchasing. The vehicle the customerwishes to purchase may be specific, i.e., a vehicle specified by a VIN,or basic, i.e., determined by such aspects as make, model, year, color,and trim package. In certain embodiments, a basic vehicle is designatedby at least make, model, and year. Select vehicle 110 may be performedin-person, such as between the customer and a salesperson at a physicalsite of the retailer, or over a wide-area network such as the internet.

In certain embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1A, after the customer selectsthe vehicle in select vehicle 110 step, the customer and the retailernegotiate a deal for the car in negotiate deal 120. In otherembodiments, as shown in FIG. 1B, after the customer selects the vehiclein select vehicle 110 step, the AOA process is performed in perform AOAprocess 200. In some embodiments, negotiate deal 120 is omitted. In someembodiments, select vehicle 110 and negotiate deal 120 are omitted, forinstance, in an embodiment where a potential customer accesses the AOAprocess, for instance, through a wide area network such as the internet.In yet another embodiment, select vehicle 110 and negotiate deal 120 maybe omitted when the customer has already purchased a vehicle, such asfrom the retailer previously or another retailer.

In negotiate deal 120, retailer employees, including for instance thesalesperson, sales manager, and others, negotiate with the customerunder what terms the customer will purchase the specific vehicle. Anexample of an online negotiation system that may be used is described inU.S. application Ser. No. 14/877,366, which is fully incorporated byreference. Certain of these terms, as well as information about thecustomer and the vehicle to be purchased, may be entered into andlocated in a deal database as part of negotiate deal 120. A dealdatabase is a database on a non-transitory, computer-readable medium inwhich information and documents regarding deals are stored. Deal summary300 of such a deal is shown in FIG. 2. Deal summary 300 may include thedeal date, salesperson, vehicle identification, which may include theVIN, and deal terms 340, which may include the sales price, any downpayment, and financing terms. Deal summary 300 may further include dealnumber 350, i.e., a unique identifier associated with the deal, andcustomer identifier 360, which may include the customer's name andaddress. The deal associated with deal summary 300 may includeadditional information including, but not limited to, the customer, theretailer and its employees, the vehicle, and the deal terms, some or allof which may be stored in the deal database.

AOA process 200, as depicted in FIG. 3, may include multiple steps. Thesteps of AOA process 200 may be performed through use of a computer. Forinstance, in certain embodiments, AOA process 200 includes the step ofdetermine vehicle 210. Determine vehicle 210 provides the specific orbasic vehicle for use in specify tire and lift kit accessoryconfiguration 220. Determine vehicle 210 may be accomplished throughelectronic means. For instance, determine vehicle 210 may beaccomplished by retrieving information regarding a specific vehicle fromthe deal database. In other embodiments, determine vehicle 210 may beaccomplished by receiving from an input device, including, but notlimited to, a keyboard or a mouse, at least the make, model, year, andcolor of a basic vehicle or the VIN of a specific vehicle.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as part of the step ofdetermine vehicle 210, vehicle selection GUI 212 as shown in FIG. 4 maybe used to enter data to retrieve information regarding the specificvehicle or enter information regarding a basic vehicle. In vehicleselection GUI 212, a deal, such as the deal negotiated in the step ofnegotiate deal 120 in FIG. 1A, may be selected, for instance, byentering the deal number into deal entry window 310 or the customer nameinto customer name entry window 312. The deal number or customer namemay be transmitted to AOA process server 630, as shown in FIG. 12. Byselecting the deal through vehicle selection GUI 212, informationregarding the deal, such as the year, make, and model of a specificvehicle, may be retrieved from the deal database, such as by AOA processserver 630.

In certain embodiments, data in the deal database may not include theyear or model of the specific vehicle. In other embodiments, a customermay wish to examine different makes, models, or years of basic vehicles.In yet other embodiments, the deal may not be completed, as shown inFIG. 1B. In these embodiments, vehicle selection GUI 212, may allowselection of the make of the vehicle through make selection buttons 314as shown in FIG. 4. In other embodiments, selection of the make of thevehicle may be performed by a separate GUI other than vehicle selectionGUI 212. The year of the vehicle may be selected in year selection GUI214, as depicted in FIG. 5A, through year selection buttons 316. Themodel of vehicle may be selected in model selection GUI 216, as depictedin FIG. 5B, through model selection buttons 318. In certain non-limitingembodiments, model selection buttons 318 may include images of genericvehicle models. “Generic,” as used herein with reference to a vehicle orimage, means a vehicle for which make, model, and year have not yet beenspecified. Images of generic vehicle models may be stored in a vehicleimage database, as described hereinbelow.

In some embodiments, the trim package may not be included in the dealdatabase for the specific vehicle or may be specified for a basicvehicle by a customer or retailer employee. As used herein, “trimpackage” means a set of cosmetic embellishments on a vehicle. In suchembodiments, the trim package of the vehicle may be selected, such aswith trim package selection GUI 218, as depicted in FIG. 5C, through useof trim selection buttons 320. In certain embodiments, use of a trimselection button 320 may result in display of vehicle image 322 fromvehicle image database having the make, model, and trim package selectedthrough vehicle selection GUI 212, year selection GUI 214, modelselection GUI 216, and trim package selection GUI 218.

In some embodiments, the exterior and interior colors of the vehicle maynot be included in the deal database for the specific vehicle or may bespecified for a basic vehicle by a customer or retailer employee.Interior and exterior colors of the vehicle may be selected, such aswith color selector GUI 222 through exterior color buttons 324 andinterior color buttons 326. In certain embodiments, use of exteriorcolor button 324 may result in display of exterior vehicle image 328from the vehicle image database having the make, model, trim package,and exterior color selected through vehicle selection GUI 212, yearselection GUI 214, model selection GUI 216, trim package selection GUI218, and color selector GUI 222. In certain embodiments, use of interiorcolor button 326 may result in display of interior vehicle image 330from the vehicle image database having the make, model, trim package,and interior color selected through vehicle selection GUI 212, yearselection GUI 214, model selection GUI 216, trim package selection GUI218, and color selector GUI 222. Vehicle selection GUI 212, yearselection GUI 214, model selection GUI 216, trim package selection GUI218, and color selector GUI 222 are non-limiting examples and otherselection GUIs may be used to select information about the vehicle ofthe deal.

Once the specific vehicle of the deal or the basic vehicle has beenselected, such as by retrieving information regarding the vehicle fromthe deal database or the deal database in conjunction with the selectionGUIs discussed above, only through the selection GUIs discussed above,or by otherwise determining the specific or basic vehicle, the customerin conjunction with retailer employees may specify accessories that maybe added to the vehicle as part of the step of specify tire and lift kitaccessory configuration 220 as shown in FIG. 3. Non-limiting examples ofaccessories that may be specified include, but are not limited to tires,wheels, and lift kits.

Certain accessories may be specified through the use of configurator GUI400, as shown in FIG. 6. Configurator GUI 400 may include vehicleanimation window 410. Prior to specifying tire and lift kit accessories,vehicle animation window 410 may depict the specific vehicle or basicvehicle based on information about the deal from the deal database,vehicle selection GUI 212, year selection GUI 214, model selection GUI216, trim package selection GUI 218, and color selector GUI 222, otherGUIs, or other inputs. In other embodiments, in addition to the specificor basic vehicle, other accessories than tire and lift kit accessoriesmay be animated onto the specific vehicle or basic vehicle prior toanimating the tire and lift kit accessories, such as described in U.S.application Ser. No. 15/287,350, which is incorporated herein byreference. Configurator GUI may include tire and lift kit accessorieslist 430. Tire and lift kit accessories list 430 may list and/or depicttire and lift kit accessories that may be added to the depiction of thespecific or basic vehicle in vehicle animation window 410. Access tosets of tire and lift kit accessories in tire and lift kit accessorylist 430 may be controlled by navigation user interface elements such astire and lift kit accessory user interface elements 420 and tire andlift kit accessory elements user interface element 425. Tire and liftkit accessory category user interface elements 420 allow a user todecide upon certain categories of accessories, shown in FIG. 6 as liftkits, although lift kits are merely an example and other categories arepossible. Tire and lift kit accessory user interface elements 420 allowa user to select which type of tire and lift kit accessory within thecategories of tire and lift kit accessories the user wishes to considerfor depiction in vehicle animation window 410.

The specific or basic vehicle image displayed in vehicle animationwindow 410 prior to specifying tire and lift kit accessories is referredto as a base image or modified base image. In certain embodiments, abase image may be determined by the year, make, model and trim packageof the specific or basic vehicle. Base images may be constructed fromdigital photographs of basic vehicles stored in raw image files, such asa DNG file. In other embodiments, base images of basic vehicles may besupplied by new car manufacturers. In some embodiments, the raw imagefile may be converted to a layered image file, such as a .PSD file foruse in an image manipulation program, such as Adobe PhotoShop. In someembodiments, the base image may be modified to include such features asshadows and highlights.

In some embodiments, base images in a layered image file may bemanipulated through the image manipulation program to produce one ormore modified base images of a color or trim package different from theoriginal base image. For instance, a base image may be of a pick-uptruck having a standard bed. The modified base image may havemanipulated to form a digital image of a pick-up truck having a short orlong bed. This process of producing modified base images may be repeatedfor multiple color or trim packages. In some embodiments, the baseimages and modified base images may include a ¾ front view, a ¾ rearview, an interior view, or a combination thereof.

In certain embodiments, base images and modified base images may be madeup of multiple image layers, for example and without limitation, betweenthree and fifteen image layers, between five and ten image layers, orfive image layers. In a non-limiting example, base images and modifiedbase images may be made up of, for instance and without limitation, fiveimage layers, such as exterior image layer 902, as shown in FIG. 13A,underbody image layer 904, as shown in FIG. 13B, shadow image layer 906,as shown in FIG. 13C, rim image layer 908, as shown in FIG. 13D, andtire image layer 910, as shown in FIG. 13E. Exterior image layer 902 mayinclude the painted area of the vehicle (body) and the non-painted area(non-body), such as the window, grill, headlights, and tail lights. Rimsimage layer 908 may be an image of a wheel design. Tires image layer 910may be an image of a tire. Underbody image layer 904 may be an image ofthe underbody. Shadow image layer 906 may be of the shadow of thevehicle. The image layers listed are exemplary only and other imagelayers are contemplated by this disclosure. For instance, certain imagelayers may be combined or omitted entirely. As an example, shadow imagelayer 906 may be omitted.

In certain embodiments, the image layers may be arranged in a viewingorder in vehicle animation window 410 in accordance with a depth number,e.g., with image layers placed over one another based on the depthnumber. In certain embodiments, the lower depth number image layers areplaced behind the higher depth number image layers in vehicle animationwindow. One example of a depth number scheme is shown below.

TABLE 1 Layer Depth Number Rims image layer 0 Exterior image layer −5Underbody image layer −10 Tires image layer −15 Shadow image layer −20

Thus, in the example given, shadow image layer 906 is behind all otherimage layers. Tires image layer 910 is overlaid onto shadow image layer906, followed by underbody image layer 904, exterior image layer 902,and rims image layer 908.

Digital images of tires and lift kit accessories may be obtained fromsuch sources as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), tire and liftkit accessory manufacturers, captured from images on the internet, orcaptured through digital photography of physical accessories. Digitalimages of tire and lift kit accessories may be converted to an imagefile suitable for use in an image manipulation application, such asPhotoShop.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, digital images of tireand lift kit accessories may be used to form an overlay. An overlay isan image that may be overlaid onto the base image or modified baseimage.

When particular accessories are selected in configurator GUI 400, AOAprocess server 630 may layer the base image with the overlay to form anaccessorized image, a process referred to as “animation.” In certainembodiments, multiple overlays with different accessories may beoverlaid onto the base image or modified base image to form anaccessorized image as the different accessories are selected throughconfigurator GUI 400.

In other embodiments, such as for wheels, rather than form an overlay,AOA process server 630 may use a process referred to herein as dynamicimage placement. In dynamic image placement, the base image or modifiedbase image may be mapped at least in part and the portion of the imagewhere the potential tire and lift kit accessory may be positioned isselected. As shown in FIG. 14A, stock rim portion 810 of modified baseimage 800 is selected. Rather than use an overlay, as shown in FIG. 14B,stock rim portion 810 may be removed from the modified base image. Asshown in FIG. 14C, wheel accessory image 820 corresponding to a wheelselectable in configurator GUI 400 may be selected and the wheelaccessory 820 may replace the image of stock rim portion 810, as shownin FIG. 14D.

Tire and lift kit accessories, as discussed hereinabove, are not onlyplaced on the vehicle, but may alter the profile of the vehicle, i.e.,tires with a different diameter than those supplied by the manufacturermay raise or lower the body of the vehicle. Similarly, lift kits mayraise or lower the vehicle. To represent the new vehicle profile, theimage layers of the base image may be moved relative to each other.

With respect to lift kits, in certain embodiments of the presentdisclosure, a lift kit “package” may be constructed. The lift kitpackage is a set of equipment grouped together to form a lift kitaccessory. In certain embodiments, lift kit packages include tires. Inother embodiments, lift kit packages do not include tires. In lift kitGUI 700, as shown in FIG. 10, lift kit name may be selected (lift kitname 702) and lift kit height may be selected (lift kit height 704).Lift kit height controls how high the vehicle body lifts, as depicted invehicle animation window 410, as described herein below.

Selection of a tire or lift kit from tire and lift kit accessory list430 will animate the selected tire or lift kit accessory onto the baseimage or modified base image of the vehicle depicted in vehicleanimation window 410. As shown in FIG. 7, depicted element 460 has beenanimated onto the original vehicle depiction in vehicle animation window410. The example shown in FIG. 7 is a lift kit.

With further reference to FIG. 6, configurator GUI 400 may furtherinclude tire and lift kit accessory tally window 440, entitled “shoppingcart.” Tire and lift kit accessory tally window 440 may interface with atire and lift kit accessory tally database that tallies what accessoriesa customer has selected and in certain embodiments the cost of thoseaccessories. Configurator GUI 400 may further include tire and lift kitaccessory pricing window 450. Tire and lift kit accessory pricing window450 may display the cost of the tire and lift kit accessory to thecustomer, either as an addition to the customer's financed monthlypayment, as shown in FIG. 6, or the actual cost of the tire and lift kitaccessory to the customer. In addition, configurator GUI 400 may includevehicle view user interface elements 470. Vehicle view user interfaceelements 470 allow the user to change the view of the vehicle in vehicleanimation window 410, for instance, to allow the customer to view thevehicle with the animated accessories from a different perspective.

FIG. 8 depicts lift kit package 415. In certain embodiments, a customermay choose to omit one or more of the pieces of equipment in lift kitpackage 415 through configurator GUI 400. In other embodiments, thetires that are part of the lift kit package may be changed to analternative tire through configurator GUI 400.

A lift kit package may be created through parts selection GUI 802, asshown in FIGS. 11A-11C. FIG. 11A depicts vehicle designator portion 805of parts selection GUI 802, which may be used to define for whichvehicles the lift kit accessory is designated. Add parts portion 818 ofparts selection GUI 802 may be used to designate the equipment thatmakes up the lift kit package, as shown in FIG. 11B. In certainembodiments, the prices and description of the equipment used as part ofthe lift kit package may be constructed in parts and equipment portion830 of parts selection GUI 802, as depicted in FIG. 11C.

Tire and lift kit accessories may alter the base image or modified baseimage by adjusting the position of the image layers relative to eachother. For instance, increasing tire diameter from the original tirediameter of the base image or modified base image may raise the exteriorimage layer relative to the remaining image layers. Thus, for instance,the exterior layer will be animated to raise in vehicle animation window410 relative to the other image layers to account for different in tirediameter. Use of a lift kit accessory may raise or lower exterior imagelayer 902 and underbody image layer 904 with respect to other imagelayers, such as shadow image layer 906, rims image layer 908, and tireimage layer 910.

Vehicle animation window 410 may reflect actual raising or lowering ofvehicle components with respect to other vehicle components by raisingor lowering image layers by a predetermined number of pixels in vehicleanimation window per inch of change in the component location. Forinstance, with respect to tire accessories, increasing the tire from a30″ tire to a 34″ inch tire may raise the vehicle exterior by 2″. Theanimation may reflect this change by raising exterior image layer 902with respect to the other image layers by a pre-determined number ofpixels per inch. Similarly, for certain lift kits that raise the vehicleexterior and underbody, exterior image layer 902 and underbody imagelayer 904 may be raised with respect to other image layers. The ratio ofpixels per inch may range from, for instance, in certain embodiments,between 1 and 15 pixels per inch, 4 and 10 pixels per inch, or 6 pixelsper inch. When the pixels per inch ratio is 6 pixels per inch,increasing time diameter from 30 to 34 inches may raise exterior imagelayer 902 relative to shadow image layer 906, for instance, 12 pixels.

Similarly with respect to lift kit accessories, certain image layers ofthe base or modified base image may move relative to other image layers.For instance, a lift kit may raise the exterior layer relative to thetire layer. With some lift kit accessories, more of the underbody layermay be exposed as the exterior layer is raised relative to the underbodylayer. As with tire accessories, vehicle animation window may reflectthese changes in layer height by raising the containers a predeterminednumber of pixels relative to the other image layers.

In certain embodiments, a customer may choose a tire with a largerdiameter in addition to a lift kit. In such cases, image layers of thebase image or modified base image may be moved relative to one anotherbased on both the lift kit accessory and the tire accessory.

FIGS. 15A-15D depict the addition of a non-limiting example of a liftkit accessory in vehicle animation window 410. In FIGS. 15A-15D, thelift kit package includes tires, wheels, grill, and equipment associatedwith raising the vehicle and modifying vehicle performance, which mayinclude shocks and/or struts, leaf springs, control arms, trailing arms,driveshaft and steering components. FIG. 15A depicts base image 800 invehicle animation window 410. Base image 800 include exterior 448,standard tire 442, standard wheel 444, and standard grill 446.“Standard,” as used herein, refers to equipment that is part of the trimpackage of the base image. Lift kit package 435, shown in FIG. 15A as“F150 SuperCrew Lift,” may be selected by user interface withconfigurator GUI 400, shown as “ADD” button 438 in FIG. 15A.

FIG. 15B depicts an in-process view of the addition of lift kit tire 442a, lift kit wheel 444 a, and lift kit grill 446 a. As shown in FIG. 15B,standard tire 442 has been replaced with lift kit tire 442 a, andstandard wheel 444 has been replaced with lift kit wheel 444 a. Asfurther shown in FIG. 15B, lift kit grill 446 a is in process of beinganimated onto base image 800. In certain embodiments, such as shown inFIG. 15B, until animated onto base image 800, accessories, such as liftkit grill 446 a, may be “grayed out,” i.e., semi-transparent, as shownin vehicle animation window 410. In FIG. 15C, lift kit grill 446 a hasanimated onto base image 800.

FIG. 15D depicts base image 800 after exterior 448 and lift kit grill446 a have been raised relative to lift kit tire 442 a and lift kitwheel 444 a, as discussed above.

Configurator GUI 400 may further include additional information userinterface elements 480. Additional information user interface elements480 may provide a link to an external database or information systemsuch as the internet that allows additional information to be shown invehicle animation window 410. FIG. 9 depicts an example of the use ofadditional information user interface elements 480. As shown in FIG. 9,once selected, additional information user interface elements 480display at least one media element, such as, for example and withoutlimitation, text information 482 and video 484 in vehicle animationwindow 410.

Tire and lift kit accessory tally window 440 may include tally reviewuser interface element 441, entitled “view shopping cart” on FIG. 6.

After the customer has completed selection of the accessories throughconfigurator GUI 400, specify tire and lift kit accessoriesconfiguration step 220 may be completed through selection of tire andlift kit accessory completion user interface element 490, entitled“DONE” in FIG. 6. After specify tire and lift kit accessoryconfiguration step is completed, as shown in FIG. 3, the AOA processincludes tire and lift kit accessory addition to deal step 230.

In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, after the tire andlift kit accessories selected by the customer are imported into the dealdatabase, the tire and lift kit accessories selected by the customer maybe ordered by the retailer from a third party, such as a tire and liftkit accessories vendor, or designated for the customer from existingretailer inventory, such as the retailer's service department. In theseembodiments, the customer may be scheduled for a service departmentappointment wherein the tire and lift kit accessories selected by thecustomer are installed. In other embodiments, the tire and lift kitaccessory may be installed by a third party, such as a tire and lift kitaccessories installer. In these embodiments, the customer may bescheduled for an appointment for installation of the tire and lift kitaccessory with the third party, wherein the tire and lift kitaccessories are installed. As one of ordinary skill in the art with thebenefit of this disclosure will appreciate, a combination of theseembodiments may be employed, i.e., certain tire and lift kit accessoriesmay be installed by the retailer service department and other tire andlift kit accessories may be installed by a third party.

Although depicted herein as using buttons in the various GUIs, onehaving ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosurewill understand that any user interface element may be utilized withoutdeviating from the scope of this disclosure. For example and withoutlimitation, interactive elements may include buttons, drop down lists,radio buttons, check boxes, list boxes, dropdown buttons, toggles, textfields, or sliders, as understood in the art.

FIG. 12 depicts an embodiment of AOA computer system 600 on whichcustomizing vehicle process 100 may be operated. AOA computer system 600may include deal database server 610. Deal database server 610 mayinclude the deal database in which information and documents regardingdeals are stored. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, deal databaseserver 610 may be accessed, such as through network 620, by AOA processserver 630. Network 620 may include one or more local area or wide areanetworks. The wide area network may be the internet. AOA computer system600 may also include vehicle image database server 640. Vehicle imagedatabase server 640 may include a vehicle image database on whichdigital images of basic vehicles are stored on a non-transitory,computer readable medium. Vehicle image database server 640 may beaccessed, such as through network 620, by AOA process server 630. AOAcomputer system 600 may also include tire and lift kit accessorydatabase server 650. Tire and lift kit accessory database server 650 mayinclude a tire and lift kit accessory database on which digital imagesof tire and lift kit accessories are stored on a non-transitory computerreadable medium. Tire and lift kit accessory database server 650 may beaccessed, such as through network 620, by AOA process server 630. Incertain embodiments, vehicle image database server 640 and tire and liftkit accessory database server 650 may be the same physical server, i.e.,the vehicle image database and the tire and lift kit accessory databasemay reside on the same server. In yet other embodiments, one or both ofthe vehicle image database and tire and lift kit accessory database maybe located on a shared computing resource, such as an internet-basedshared computing resource. An examples of an internet-based sharedcomputing resource is cloud computing.

AOA process server 630 may include instructions on a non-transitory,computer readable medium for performing the processes outlined abovewith respect to AOA process 200, generation and updating of GUI's,presentment of images, and data transmission to and receipt from remotedevices 660, 670, 680. In certain embodiments, AOA process server mayretrieve all or part of the vehicle image database and the tire and liftkit accessory database and store the images on the non-transitorycomputer readable medium of AOA process server 630. In certainembodiments, retrieval of all or part of the vehicle image database andthe tire and lift kit accessory database may be performed on a periodicbasis. Remote devices 660, 670, 680 include, for example and withoutlimitation, desktop computer 660, lap top computer 670, and mobiledevice 680.

The foregoing outlines features of several embodiments so that a personof ordinary skill in the art may better understand the aspects of thepresent disclosure. Such features may be replaced by any one of numerousequivalent alternatives, only some of which are disclosed herein. One ofordinary skill in the art should appreciate that they may readily usethe present disclosure as a basis for designing or modifying otherprocesses and structures for carrying out the same purposes and/orachieving the same advantages of the embodiments introduced herein. Oneof ordinary skill in the art should also realize that such equivalentconstructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure and that they may make various changes, substitutions, andalterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent disclosure.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computerized method for adding lift kitsor tires to vehicle images: providing a plurality of image layers;constructing a base image or modified base image from the plurality ofimage layers; selecting a tire or lift kit accessory; retrieving anaccessory image corresponding to the tire or lift kit accessory; andanimating the accessory image onto the base image or modified base imageincluding: selecting a portion of the base image or modified base imagewherein the tire or lift kit accessory image is to be positioned;removing the portion of the base image; replacing the portion of thebase image with the tire or lift kit accessory image; raising orlowering a first image layer relative to a second image layer in avehicle animation window, wherein the distance the first image layer israised or lowered relative to second image layer is correlated to thedistance the tire or lift kit accessory raises or lowers a first part ofa vehicle corresponding to the first image layer relative to a secondpart of the vehicle corresponding to the second image layer.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein each image layer is assigned a depth numberand wherein the depth number determines the position of each image layerwhen constructing the base image or modified base image.
 3. The methodof claim 2, wherein the image layers are overlaid in accordance with thedepth number.
 4. The method of claim 1 further comprising after the stepof constructing the base image or modified base image but prior to thestep of animating the accessory image onto the base image or modifiedbase image: displaying the base image or modified base image in thevehicle animation window.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprisingprior to the step of constructing the base image or modified base image:generating base image, the base image generated by: generating a digitalphotograph of a basic vehicle; storing the digital photograph in a rawimage file; and converting the raw image file to a layered image file.6. The method of claim 5 further comprising after the step of generatingbase image: generating a modified base image, the modified base imagegenerated by manipulating the base image, wherein the modified baseimage has a different color or trim package than the base image.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the first image layer is raised or loweredrelative to the second image layer a number of pixels corresponding to anumber of inches the first part of the vehicle is raised or loweredrelative to the second part of the vehicle.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the tire or lift kit accessory is a tire accessory wherein thetire accessory is a tire with a larger diameter tire than that of thebase image and wherein the first image layer is an exterior image layer.9. The method of claim 1, wherein the tire or lift kit accessory is alift kit accessory and wherein the first image layer is a lower exteriorimage layer or an underbody image layer and wherein the second imagelayer is a shadow image layer, a rims image layer, or a tires imagelayer.
 10. The method of claim 7, wherein a ratio that the first imagelayer is raised or lowered relative to the second image layer in pixelscorresponding to the number of inches the first part of the vehicle israised or lowered relative to the second part of the vehicle is between1 and 15 pixels per inch.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein tire orlift kit accessory is a lift kit accessory and wherein animating theaccessory image onto the base image or modified base image exposes moreof an underbody layer as compared to when the accessory image is notanimated.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein both a tire accessory imageand a lift kit accessory image are animated onto the base image ormodified base image and wherein the distance the first image layer israised or lowered relative to second image layer is correlated to thedistance the tire accessory and lift kit accessory raises or lowers thefirst part of a vehicle corresponding to the first image layer relativeto the second part of the vehicle corresponding to the second imagelayer.
 13. A computerized method for adding lift kits or tires tovehicle images: providing a plurality of image layers; constructing abase image or modified base image from the plurality of image layers;selecting a tire or lift kit accessory; retrieving an accessory imagecorresponding to the tire or lift kit accessory; forming an overlayusing the accessory image; and animating the accessory image onto thebase image or modified base image by: selecting a portion of the baseimage or modified base image wherein the tire or lift kit accessoryimage is to be positioned; layering the overlay of the accessory imageonto the base image or modified base image; raising or lowering a firstimage layer relative to a second image layer in a vehicle animationwindow, wherein the distance the first image layer is raised or loweredrelative to second image layer is correlated to the distance the tire orlift kit accessory raises or lowers a first part of a vehiclecorresponding to the first image layer relative to a second part of thevehicle corresponding to the second image layer.
 14. The method of claim13, wherein each image layer is assigned a depth number and wherein thedepth number determines the position of each image layer whenconstructing the base image or modified base image.
 15. The method ofclaim 14, wherein the image layers are overlaid in accordance with thedepth number.
 16. The method of claim 13 further comprising after thestep of constructing the base image or modified base image but prior tothe step of animating the accessory image onto the base image ormodified base image: displaying the base image or modified base image inthe vehicle animation window.
 17. The method of claim 13, furthercomprising prior to the step of constructing the base image or modifiedbase image: generating the base image, the base image generated by:generating a digital photograph of a basic vehicle; storing the digitalphotograph in a raw image file; and converting the raw image file to alayered image file.
 18. The method of claim 17 further comprising afterthe step of generating the base image: generating a modified base image,the modified base image generated by manipulating the base image,wherein the modified base image has a different color or trim packagethan the base image.
 19. The method of claim 13, wherein the first imagelayer is raised or lowered relative to the second image layer a numberof pixels corresponding to a number of inches the first part of thevehicle is raised or lowered relative to the second part of the vehicle.20. The method of claim 19, wherein a ratio that the first image layeris raised or lowered relative to the second image layer in pixelscorresponding to the number of inches the first part of the vehicle israised or lowered relative to the second part of the vehicle is between1 and 15 pixels per inch.
 21. The method of claim 13, wherein the tireor lift kit accessory is a tire accessory wherein the tire accessory isa tire with a larger diameter tire than that of the base image andwherein the first image layer is an exterior image layer.
 22. The methodof claim 13, wherein the tire or lift kit accessory is a lift kitaccessory and wherein the first image layer is a lower exterior imagelayer or an underbody image layer and wherein the second image layer isa shadow image layer, a rims image layer, or a tires image layer. 23.The method of claim 13, wherein tire or lift kit accessory is a lift kitaccessory and wherein animating the accessory image onto the base imageor modified base image exposes more of an underbody layer as compared towhen the accessory image is not animated.
 24. The method of claim 13,wherein both a tire accessory image and a lift kit accessory image areanimated onto the base image or modified base image and wherein thedistance the first image layer is raised or lowered relative to secondimage layer is correlated to the distance the tire accessory and liftkit accessory raises or lowers the first part of a vehicle correspondingto the first image layer relative to the second part of the vehiclecorresponding to the second image layer.